Former Yankees catcher Jesús Montero dies at 35 after MLB career with Seattle Mariners
Montero appeared in 226 games during his MLB career. He posted a .253 batting average with 28 home runs and 104 RBIs in parts of five seasons. His slugging percentage was .398 with a 94 OPS+.
The catcher’s MLB tenure included 41 games with the Yankees from 2011-2012 and 185 games with the Mariners from 2012-2015.
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Baseball prospect rankings place Montero among top talents ahead of MLB debut
Many baseball publications ranked Montero among the top 10 prospects in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus included him on their annual prospect lists at the time.
Montero hit two home runs against the Baltimore Orioles in his fourth game after the Yankees promoted him to the major leagues in September 2011. In 2010 at Triple-A, he hit 21 home runs and had a .517 slugging percentage.
Seattle Mariners trade brought Montero to Pacific Northwest in 2012
The Yankees traded Montero to Seattle in a January 2012 transaction. He spent four seasons in the Mariners organization but failed to replicate his minor league offensive production at the major league level. In 2014, Montero attempted to confront a team scout during a minor league rehab assignment game while in the Mariners organization. The incident occurred during his time in Seattle’s farm system.
Montero’s career ends after brief stints with the Blue Jays and Orioles organizations
Seattle waived Montero in March 2016. He later signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles but was unable to advance beyond their minor league systems.
Montero’s professional baseball career ended after the 2016 season. He did not play affiliated baseball after being released from the Orioles organization.
The Yankees organization has not released additional details regarding Montero’s death.
